Niagara Falls & Toronto
 

We are 4 active seniors who would like to take a road trip from the New York metropolitan area to Niagara Falls and Toronto. We'd appreciate any hints and suggestions for the trip. We plan to go at the end of July and can spend up to 2 weeks on the trip.

What are your interests?
Do you like Gardens? Museums? Art Galleries ? Shopping ?
Theatre? History ? Walking?

We like gardens, shopping, history and walking. We especially love traveling back roads through quaint areas to arrive at our destination.

Gardens, Walks etc in the Niagara area:

Some beautiful gardens in Niagara Falls and the Butterfly Conservatory is right in the middle of one - recommended
Just look for any of the Niagara Parks Commission signs.
Also the drive along the Niagara Parkway to Niagara-on-the Lake is great - parks, views, fruit stands, a historic fort (Fort George), a historic and scenic battlefield site (Queenston Heights) - great views over the river.

Will add some more stuff tommorrow
The following is a great site for planning a drive with walks along the Niagara Parkway:
http://www.niagaraparks.com/nature-t...ion-trail.html
The town of Niagara-on-the-Lake is also quite nice - shops and an excellent Drama Festival (The Shaw Festival). Personally I would stay there rather than in Niagara Falls - a number of nice B&Bs

On the way, research the Finger Lakes making it a point to stop at Watkins Glen State Park and Letchworth State Park if you like nature walks... Buffalo has lots to do including some amazing Frank Lloyd Wright buildings... will ad more later...

I agree with semiramis about Niagara on the Lake. You might as well take advantage of the Shaw Festival which will be on while you're there. NOTL is a charming town and a lunch/matinee or dinner/evening performance and a stay over a night or two is perfect. You can visit Niagara Falls and the Butterfly Conservatory from there as well as some vineyards, if you're interested in wines.

Here's the Shaw Festival website. I believe there are some package deals:

www.shawfest.com

History:

Queenston Heights - on the parkway between Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake
Fort George - outskirts of Niagara-on-the-Lake

On the way to Toronto:
Scenic: Balls Falls - near Vineland, a short drive off the QEW
http://www.npca.ca/conservation-area...ls/default.htm

Historic and Scenic: Crawford Lake - re-creation of a Huron Indian settlement in a Conservation area - great walks and the little lake is a geologic oddity. ALso interesting to observe the buzzards in their nesting sites on the Niagara Escarpment here. Located south of highway 401, north of the QEW
http://www.conservationhalton.on.ca/...?subCatID=1083

If you don't mind lengthening (and slowing) your drive from Niagara Falls to Toronto, leave the QEW (the major highway between Niagara Falls and Toronto) at Oakville and drive the rest of the way on Highway 2 (Lakeshore Rd.) - as the name implies it runs near Lake Ontario (sometimes directly beside it) and goes through a number of small towns. Stop at any of the parks along the way to stetch your legs.

As I type, the other Meryl is on my television, pretending she's Julia Child.

Halfway between Niagara and Toronto is Hamilton, home of:

1/ Canadian Warplane Heritage, which is a museum mostly of WWII aircraft. It's fascinating to people who enjoy war-related history, and you're close enough to the planes to touch them, walk under them, and in a couple of cases, sit in them.

It's at the Hamilton Airport.

About the comment on getting off the Queen Elizabeth Way. I live in this neighborhood (town of Oakville) and drive back and forth between Toronto and Hamilton a lot, and we like to take the Lakeshore, too. If the locals like the scenery and we're used to it, imagine what a visitor would think.

Downtown Oakville, which is right on the road, is worth an hour's walk. You'll know you're there just by looking out the window.

There's a pretty good little museum walking distance from the main road, too.

BAK

2/ Royal Botanical Garden, which is a combination of greenhouses and outdoor gardens that's well worth the visit.

If you have the time and travel second half September the Algonquin park north of Toronto is beautiful.great walks,not difficult and kayaking. Paul

Thank you all for your responses. They are great suggestions and we hope to use them this summer.